Jamaican · dessert

Jamaican Black Cake

Name: Jamaican Black Cake
Prep time: 28 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Jamaican
Ingredients: 2 lbs mixed dried fruits (raisins, currants, prunes, cherries); 1 cup dark rum; 1/2 cup red wine; 2 cups brown sugar; 1 cup butter, softened; 4 eggs; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 2 tsp mixed spice; 1/4 tsp nutmeg; 1 tsp cinnamon; 2 tbsp browning sauce; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp almond extract

Jamaican Black Cake reads sweetness 5.7, richness 4.9 and fruity 3.4 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Jamaican dessert, about 30 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 3.0 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 6.7 / 10
Sour & Bright — 2.3 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.5 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.8 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 3.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 5.7 · Richness 4.9 · Fruity 3.4 · Nutty 3.1 · Floral 2.8 · Funk & Ferment 2.6 · Umami 2.5 · Warm Spice 2.3 · Bitterness 2.2 · Sourness 2.1 · Salinity 1.6 · Herbaceous 1.5 · Earthy 1.3 · Smoke 1.0 · Heat 0.7 · Citrus 0.6

What's in it (14)

2 lbs mixed dried fruits (raisins, currants, prunes, cherries)
1 cup dark rum
1/2 cup red wine
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp browning sauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

Time & effort: about 30 min (28 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 325.3 kcal, 5.1 g protein, 9.4 g fat, 52.5 g carbs

Dietary: Vegetarian · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (3 steps)

Soak mixed dried fruits in rum and red wine for weeks or months until deeply plump and dark.
Cream butter and brown sugar, beat in eggs, then fold in the soaked fruit and sifted spiced flour.
Bake in a lined tin at 300°F for 1.5 to 2 hours; pour additional rum over the hot cake and allow to mature for at least a week before serving.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Szilvás Gombóc (Plum Dumplings) — Hungarian
Sagu de Vinho — Brazilian
Stollen (Christmas Fruit Bread) — German
Sweet Potato Pudding (Hell a Top, Hell a Bottom) — Jamaican
Klaicha (Date-Filled Cardamom Pastries) — Iraqi

Keep reading: what sweetness, richness, fruity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.